General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSE)
What It Measures
The General Self-Efficacy Scale measures a person's belief that they can handle difficulty — not confidence in one particular skill, but the broader sense that when something hard comes up, they will find a way through it.
Ten statements describe coping with unexpected events, solving problems, and sticking with a goal despite obstacles. Each is rated from not at all true to exactly true, and the ten sum to a total from 10 to 40. Every item is positively worded, so no reverse scoring is needed. There are no cut-off scores and no severity bands — the authors deliberately declined to categorize people by score. A result is read against a reference mean or against the person's own earlier score.
Further Reading
Additional Notes
Licensing Notes: Authors grant blanket permission to use and reproduce the scale for research and educational purposes provided the source is cited.
Learn More: It describes a stable belief rather than how someone has felt lately, which makes it useful as context for engagement in therapy rather than as a symptom measure. Validated from about age 12 upward.
